Between 1995 till 2010, there have been an average of 19 nuclear smuggling incidents involving stolen or lost nuclear and radioactive materials each year.
The Pakistani Military is estimated to have between 70 to 90 nuclear warheads.
According to the IAEA Illicit Trafficking Database (ITDB), between 1993 and 2007 there was 1,340 confirmed incidents of nuclear and radioactive material trafficking in the world.
According to published reports, Libya paid at least $100 million in the black market to Pakistani scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan for nuclear weapons equipment and expertise.
The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) states that since the year 2000 there are about 200 to 250 cases of nuclear and radioactive materials trafficking occurring annually.
The difference in figures is due to the fact that the IAEA only reports incidents that its members have confirmed or released publicly, where the DHS includes all known or suspected incidents that were identified by the United States and other governments.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirms 149 incidents of illicit trafficking and other unauthorized activities involving nuclear and radioactive materials took place in 2006.
According to Stephen Flynn, author of America the Vulnerable, “Weapons-usable nuclear materials exist in over 130 research laboratories operating in more than forty countries around the world, ranging from Ukraine to Ghana.”